New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-01-25
N4TAL COMPARISONS.

A naval officer on duty in the Mediterranean
has exploded a small torpedo under the Eng
sh-Amcricm Navy. Commander McGrcsor,
of the United States ship Alliance. has reported
under date OF January the arrival of the Brit
ish feet at Malta, and unusual courtcsics shown
to him and his officers by the Admiral (thc
Duke Of Edinburgh and the Governor "Her
Majestys ship Scout" no writes. Zone Of the
new type recently built arrived In port on
December 81. The commanding officer said
that she was placed at seventeen knots and had
made it in smooth water. but that he called her
a sixteen-knot ship. In making this speed the
ship vibrates so much that even old sailors arc
made sick" This is an interesting bit Of naval
intelligence for which the country is greatly
indebted to tho news-counter Of the Bureau OF
Navigation. Secretary Whitney, despairing of
the ability Of American designers to plan a fast
cruiser, sent to England for some OF the new
est and most approved ideas. How distressed
he will DO when he learns that seventeen knots
nominal speed means sixteen knots actual sea
speed, and that this reduced rate Is accompanied
by unerring signs Of structural weakness The
vibrations of the machir cry are so violent as
TO make old sailors scasick even in fine weather.
NOt ldnQluDDGIS, scut W btd dS nav h cAlCl1 LII
search of storm, but weather beaten, stomach
proof British tars on a smooth sea What will
the partisan examiners, who condemned the
Dolphin on account Of the juggling Of glasses
in the cabin, have 10 ray when confronted with
such glazing evidence of structural weakness 7
Imagine the three Jonahs who took passage
with Captain Meade on his celebrated cruise.
cmbarking for n voyage on the Scout!
This disclosure Of the actual speed and in
stability Of the Scout is timely Secretary
Whitney, in his last annual report, goes out Of
his way to make series of unfair and mislead
ing comparisons between the first four vessels
constructed for the new Navy and series Of
English ships built about the same time. This
is done with view to discrcditing the work Of
American designers. The Dolphin is contrasted
with the Alaerity and the Surprise, and the
Atlanta with the Esmcralda, Giovanni Bausan
and Mersey, and the inferiority of tho Amcri-
can ships is assumed to be automatically dem
onstrated. Marine engineers, who have read
these paragraphs in the Secrctary's report, have
pronounced the method Of comparison to lie
unfair and INSCRIPTIONS, and the conclusions
reached as wholly without warrant in fact The
Surprise is admitted by English naval author
tiles to he failure, and instead Of being used
as an admiralty yacht has been converted into
a gunboat and sent to foreign station. The
Alacrity has not answered tho requirements Of
speed for which II was designed. Tho other
vessels named have possibly shown great speed
over measured milo aftor repeated trial trips |:
but structural weakness Is suspected. and tho
actual speed is much lowor than tho Secretary
has assumed IL to 10. 1t Is certainly curious
spectacle to find English vessels, which arc con-
deEned at homo *as feet of modern fail
urcs "-this j. the language of one of tho most
influential engineering jOurnals-paraded in an